After about 9 ½ hours of deliberation during two days, a Lake County Common Pleas Court jury found Kevin Knoefel guilty of convincing his teenage foster daughter to stab and murder his wife.
Knoefel, 43, of Willoughby Hills, was found guilty of all 11 counts brought against him — six counts of sexual battery, two of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder and three of complicity to aggravated murder.
While a sentencing date has not been set, Knoefel faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Sabrina Zunich, 19, Knoefel’s foster daughter, previously testified that she stabbed and killed her 41-year-old foster mother Lisa Knoefel on Nov. 16, 2012, but that she was manipulated into carrying out the crime by Kevin Knoefel and that the two had engaged in a sexual relationship.
Kevin Knoefel did not display much emotion when the verdict was read in the courtroom. He was placed in handcuffs following the verdict announcement and then led from the courtroom by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies. His family and friends, who were supporting him throughout the course of the trial, did not give a comment following the verdict.
Lisa Knoefel’s ex-husband Nicholas Zanella, also the biological father of their 13-year-old daughter who witnessed the murder, said justice has had been served.
“He did a heinous act,” Zanella said. “Now Lisa can rest and the two girls can have justice.”
Prosecuting attorney Karen Kowall said she was elated with the verdict.
“It was so important and significant for this case that this man did not get away with this crime,” she said.
Kowall added that it was gratifying that the jury of seven men and five women “saw their way through” some of the defense’s argument about Zunich’s mental illness.
Knoefel’s defense attorney Michael Connick said that he does plan to appeal the verdict and that they were not able to bring all the evidence they wanted to.
“We were prohibited from putting on any mental health providers or treating physicians of Sabrina Zunich who would have been able to better detail the history of her mental illness,” Connick said. “The court concluded that that evidence was not relevant and we obviously disagree with that and that will be a primary focus on appeal.”
Connick reiterated that his client had no knowledge of Zunich’s plan.
“Since he wasn’t involved, he wouldn’t have any idea what her motive was. I think her motive was fueled by mental illness,” he said. “The wounds that were delivered to Lisa, that’s not something a rational, normal human being does.”
Kowall disputed Connick’s claim.
“He was not limited in any way. They had historical records,” said Kowall.
She also said that when she initially met with Zunich in May 2013 to learn about Knoefel’s involvement, she thought she was about to hear a “nonsensical” story from a desperate defendant.
“We didn’t expect to believe her and as we listened to the story unfold, it made complete sense to us,” Kowall said. “We had an opportunity to go out and test that, and the evidence led us to the fact that we believed that she was telling the truth.”
Zunich testified in court that she and Kevin Knoefel engaged in a sexual relationship over a period of months and that he manipulated her into killing Lisa Knoefel so they could use her life insurance proceeds to create a new life together.
On Nov. 16, 2012, Zunich then stabbed Lisa Knoefel 178 times while she was sleeping. Lisa’s 3-year-old daughter Hailey was found hiding in the bedroom closet.
Prosecuting attorney John O’Donnell said other evidence submitted during the trial showed that Zunich knew things that she could not have known if not for Knoefel.
“I think the jury was able to latch onto those things and feel comfortable with their verdict,” he said.
Lake County Prosecutor Charles Coulson, who did not participate actively in the trial but was on hand for the verdict, said the case was a tragedy.
“There’s no relief, no happiness in any of this,” Coulson said. “So many people’s lives have been destroyed in this case. There’s no joy in this verdict.”

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